Protecing apparatus for insulators



Dec. 19, 1933. K. A. HAwLEY PROTECTING APPARATUS FOR INSULATORS Filed June 20, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W v a M ,1 b

Dec. 19, 1933.

K. A. HAWLEY 1,940,591

PROTECTING APPARATUS FOR INSULATORS Filed June 20, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec; 19, 1933 c UNITED STATES (PATENT. OFFICE Q l H 1,040,591 l 1 PROTECTING APPARATUS FOR.

'INSULATORS p .Kent Hawley, Baltimore, assignor to Locke Insulator Corporation, Baltimore, Md.,a corporation of Maryland I ApplicationJune 20, 1927 "Serial No. 200,098

5-Claims. c1. ire- 31s) The invention relates to improvements in protecting apparatus for insulators and has special reference to means for preventing injury to high potential insulators oi the suspension type in 5 the event of a flash-over and the ensuing power Incrdinarylhigh potential electric. systems, when the voltage on the line conductor rises abnormally,due to lightning or other causes, a

1 the dielectric strength of the air has been broken" {so down may be of greaterduration. :The insulators used in such high potential systemsare very apt of such a powerwarc.

to be damaged or wholly destroyed by the heat As setforth in Patent No. 966,584 issued to 2 5, L. C. Nicholson, August 9th, l910,-there is fdiS-r closed an arrangementor construction whereby when a flash-over and power arc occur the arc will be diverted away from the insulator so that the current may pass to the ground without injury tothe insulator. "While'said patentlwill of course speak for itself it maybe mentioned that it discloses electrodes formed as metal ring members suitably supported at the ends =ofi am.

vices of the type disclosed in said and similar patents whereby the eiliciency of the protective means will be greatly increased. j l

An important object oflthe invention is to V i provide a grading ring or protective device which is mounted independently of the conductor clamp so that its inertia will ,notbe added to that of the clamp, thus permitting the clamp to move "more freely in accordance withvibrations in the I Q conductor span, there being consequently less 'ilikfillhOOd of the bringing of bending I strains "upon the conductor where'it is engaged by the -clamp.

Another objectof theinvention is to provide a protective means of this character whichthe flash-over is apt .to occur overthe surfaceflof the ment in the'art.

generally stated,,,is to improve the protective de-' mounting "or support for the grading ring is interposed between andmovable with respect to the conductorclamp and theinsulator string sothat in case the string is swung laterally as the result of unequal tension uponthe conductor 0 V in the spans at opposite sides of the clamp the 7 grading ring may maintain its normal relation 1 to the string. that is to say with the plane of its top at substantially rightangles to the longitudinal axis of the string instead of the ring, or its equivalent, being ,ever forced'into actual physical contact with the porcelain units of the string: v i

A still more specific object of the invention is to provideprotective means of this character in which the grading ring or its equivalent constitutes a complete and separate unit adapted to be interposed between the conductorclampand the endofpthe string and installed without involving any changes or modifications in the con- ,75 struction' of the vinsulators or the clamp. j 1

Yet another object is toprovide a grading ring structure adapted to cooperate with ordinary types of arcing horns carried by the topmost unit of the string of suspended insulators though it is p so readily conceivable that an arcing horn; or its. equivalent of a:-special-construction might be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy :to

assemble and install; positive in action, eflicient and-,durablein service, and a general-improvea t i To'the attainment of the foregoing and other objects and advantages, the invention preferably consists in the details of construction and the arrangement and combination of parts to be angles toFigure 1 to 'showthe construction of thearcing horns,

Figure 3'is aside elevation of the lowermost unit, the view being taken at right anglesto Figure Land V 7 y Figure 4-is adetail cross section taken on the line 4+ of Figure 3.. j

i we

of the successive units are connected with the ears or clevises of the adjacent units by some suitable fastening elements such as those disclosed at 6. The topmost unit-is intended to be suspended from some suitable grounded support as by means of a suspension link 7. It is intended that a conductor clamp, not shownfbe mounted at the lower end of the string for supporting the conductor of the transmission line.

In accordance with the present invention I provide an electrode structure indicated generally at 8 and here represented ascomprising a disk-like metallic member 9 from which radiate arms 10 secured thereto in any desired manner and carrying a ring 11. While it is conceivable that the ring may be mounted upon the outer ends of these arms in different ways, it may be preferable to provide saddle elements or seats 12 concaved at their upper surfaces to fit against the ring, the ring and the saddle members being conveniently secured to the arms as by bolts or cap screws 13. It should be distinctly understood that there is no limitation in this particular respect or in the manner of securing the arms to the member 10 by the bolts 14 as variations may be resorted to without having any material efiect upon the operation.

The means for mounting this electrode structure beneath the lowermost insulator unit preferably comprises a depending suspension element 15 which may conveniently be a U-shaped yoke with its arms straddling and secured to the bolt or pin of the lowermost unit. This yoke or sus pension device is shown as passing through openings 16 in the body member or disk 9 and the latter is preferably provided with upstanding ears 1'! connected by a bridge element or portion 18 beneath which engages a pivot bolt 19 extending transversely through the suspension yoke or member 15. The yoke member 15 may be of substantially the same width as the bridge element 18 and is so shown but this does not in any way interfere with-the pivotal mounting of the electrode inasmuch as pivotal movement will occur at the point of connection of the suspension member or yoke 15 with the bolt or pin of the lowermost insulator unit. It is intended that the member 15 be of sufficient length that its bight portion will project beyond the underside of the body member or disk 9 and located within this protecting bight portion is a suspension link or loop 20 from which the conductor clamp is to be hung. In view of the fact that the entire electrode or ring assembly may pivot upon the point of connection of the suspension yoke with thelowermost insulator and as the loop or link 20 may pivot on an axis'at right angles to the first named pivot, and for the additional reason that the clamp, not shown, may pivot with respect to the loop or link 20, it is obvious that'the clamp will be capable of universal movement with respect to the insulator string so as to accommodate itself to'vibrations in the conductor.

The device is installed by connecting the sus and other similar patents. of advantage in the present instance is that the lower or suspended electrode structure is carried pension member or yoke 15 with whatever element depends from the lowermost insulator unit and it should be understood that while the yoke is here shown as of U-shape straddling the pin or bolt carried by the insulator there is no limitation in this respect as the device may be equally well adapted for use in connection with insulators having a different type of means for connecting them in string form. Whatever clamp is used is then suspended from the link member 20. The different possible movements of the entire protective electrode have already been mentioned.

It is of course true that substantially the same electrode arrangement may be provided at the top of the string and such is contemplated as being within the scope of the invention. However, it may not ordinarily be necessary to duplicate this structure and one may therefore employ the arcing horn arrangement disclosed in Figures 1 and 2 wherein I have illustrated the cap of the uppermost unit as carrying an elongated angular strip 21 the ends of which constitute arcing horns, this strip being held in place in some suitable manner as for instance by being bolted at 22 to the outturned ends 23 of bracket elements 24 secured together as by a bolt 25 and connected by one of the above described fastening elements 6 with the cars at the top of the cap. There is no reason for providing any flexibility in the connection of the arcing horns with the unit and the construction is therefore represented as rigid. If flexibility should be desired, a different mounting could of course be provided.

In the operation, it will be seen that in case of a flash-over caused by lightning or either some other abnormal condition, the flash and the resultant power are will pass between the ring 11 and arcing horns 21 and be consequently diverted away from the insulators so that they will not be broken down or damaged in any respect. Actual practice has demonstrated that this action occurs in the present device in exactly the same manner as set forth in the above mentioned The distinct feature by an intermediate link or suspension device interposed between and pivotally connected with the lower end of the insulator string and whatever conductor clamp is used. One advantage of this arrangement is that the clamp may respond more easily and quickly to vibrations in 'the conductor inasmuch as the inertia of the grading ring or electrode device is not added to that of the clamp. Another advantage is that the ring or electrode structure may hang always in its normal position with respect to the string even though the string should swing laterally owing to variations in the tension of the two spans at opposite sides of the clamp, it being known that such variations frequently occur as for instance when sleet accumulates upon or melts off from the different spans at different rates. A detailed feature in this is that the electrode structure or ring will not be forcedinto physical contact with the insulator units with possible detriment thereto. It will therefore be seen that there has been provided an extremely slmpleandxyet highly efficient device for the purpose set forth and one whichiwill satisfactorily perform all the functions for which it is intended. It is believed that the construction,'operation'and advantages will be readily apparent 7 While I have shown and describedi swarmed embodiment of the invention, it shouldil'wumfer stood -that the disclosure is merely arr exemifis cation of the principles involved as is reserved to make all such changes in the details of construction as will widen the field of utility and increase the adaptability of the device pro)- vided such changes constitute no departure from; the spirit of the invention or the scope ofthe claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I r

'1. In a protective apparatus for a stringent suspension insulators, a metallic body member located beneath the string, a supension member pivotally connected with the lowermost insulator unit and connected with the body member and having its lower end projecting below the latter, a ring supported by said body member,-

and a closed link pivotally engaged with the projecting end of .said suspension member and located beneath said body member toserveas a support for a conductor clamp.

2. In a protective device for astringof insulators, a body memberlocated beneath the lower end of the string and carrying a grading ring adapted to cooperate with arcing horns at the top of the string, and a U-shaped suspension device having the ends of its arms pivotally connected with the lowermost insulator unit and passing through and pivotally connected at the intermediate portions of its arms with said body member, said suspension device being adapted .to support a conductor clamp movable independently of the grading ring.

3. A protective device for a string of suspen- "sion insulators, comprising a disk-like body member carrying an electrode surrounding the string; and provided with spaced openings, a U-shapedb :yoke having its arms extending through said. openings and pivotally connected at their ends with the lowermost insulator inthe stringand :also pivotally connected intermediate their ends with said body member, and means carried by 'the bight portion of said yoke for suspending a conductor clamp.

4. A protective device for a string of suspen- :sion insulators, comprising a body member car- :rying an electrode extending about the string and provided with spaced openings with ears at the sides thereof, a yoke pivotally connected with l the lowermost insulator and having arms extend- :ing through said openin'gs'and pivotally connected with said ears, said yoke having its lower end projecting below the body and a suspension link engaged within thelowerend of said yoke for supporting a' conductor clamp.

5. A protective device for a string of suspension insulators, comprising a disk-like body formed at its center with an opening, a plurality 1310 of, arms radiating from said body and carrying saddle members with concave upper surfaces,

a grading ring seated upon said concave surfaces and secured to said saddle members, a U-shaped yoke extending through said opening and piv-l35 otally connected with the lowermost insulator and pivotally connected with said body member, and means carried by the yoke for supporting a conductor clamp.

KENT A. HAWLEY. 113 

